Eye on the U

Hot time in MIami: Gators at Canes in football: noon on Sept. 7 on ESPN.

University of Miami tailgaters might want to get to sleep early on Friday, Sept. 6th. That's because the highly anticipated Florida Gators at Miami Hurricanes football game was announced for a noon kickoff at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 on ESPN -- upsetting fans who would rather have a night game.

A night game would certainly be a great draw and the event to party around at Sun Life. UM would get heavy-duty exposure. And let's face it, night games are always more fun (unless you're on deadline or savor getting broiled outside).

Turns out that ABC has NASCAR from Richmond, Va., that night and ESPN is broadcasting the Notre Dame-Michigan football game in prime time. A game has not yet been announced for the prime-time ESPN2 slot.

"We requested and lobbied ESPN for an evening slot for the game vs #BeatUF.'' tweeted UM athletic director Blake James. "Unfortunately, they were unable to accomodate.'' 

 I just got off the phone with ESPN spokesman Mike Humes, whom I asked about the noon start.

"Essentially, we looked at all the options and this was the best available window for the game,'' Humes said. "We average probably around three million viewers for that time slot. So it wasn’t like, 'Let’s put the worst game on at noon.' The noon window does really well with fans.

"We view this as a great matchup. Scheduling games is like putting together differrent puzzles with different time zones and commitments, and this was the best window.''

 UM AD James also tweeted this: "espn/abc wanted to take game national 3:30 slot is regional coverage."

Humes said the 3:30 p.m. ABC game is Oregon at Virginia.

In other Canes football news, the Aug. 30 season opener at Sun Life Stadium against FAU will kick off at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 -- a Friday -- and will be aired by ESPNU.

SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN 

Canes to host 24th NCAA baseball regional

Guess the experts were wrong.

Despite losing the ACC championship game to Georgia Tech and being projected to be a road team by most experts, the 21st-ranked University of Miami Hurricanes were one of 16 teams selected as hosts for the NCAA Tournament Sunday, which begins Friday.

It's the 24th time and first time since 2010 UM will host a regional. The Hurricanes have been to the Tournament an NCAA-record 40 consecutive years, but haven't reached the College World Series since 2008. 

They've lost to the University of Florida in the tournament each of the last three seasons -- whether in the Regional or Super Regional round.

The fact UM (36-21) was named one of the 16 host sites for the regional round came as a bit of a surprise despite being ranked 10th in RPI. Baseball America Magazine and ESPN both projected the Hurricanes as a No. 2 seed -- and likely headed to Gainesville.

UM is one of five ACC schools to serve as hosts.

The other 15 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows: LSU (43-26), Baton Rouge, La.; North Carolina (44-14), Chapel Hill, N.C.; Virginia (38-17), Charlottesville, Va.; Texas A&M (42-16), College Station, Texas; South Carolina (40-17), Columbia, S.C.; Oregon (42-16), Eugene, Ore.; Florida (42-18), Gainesville, Fla.; Purdue (44-12), Gary, Ind.; Rice (40-17), Houston, Texas; UCLA (41-14), Los Angeles, Calif.; Stanford (37-16), Palo Alto, Calif.; NC State (39-17), Raleigh, N.C.; Florida State (43-15), Tallahassee, Fla.; Arizona (37-17), Tucson, Ariz.; Baylor (44-14), Waco, Texas.

The last season Miami hosted a regional was 2010, when the Hurricanes went on to win the Coral Gables Regional with wins over Texas A&M and Dartmouth.

Ticket packages for the entire Coral Gables Regional are $90 for field box, $60 for chairback, $45 for adult general admission and $30 for youth, seniors and students. Those packages will go on sale at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Individual day passes will go on sale later this week.

The Coral Gables Regional field will be announced Monday at 12 p.m. on ESPNU.

The University of Miami and the ticket office are closed for Memorial Day on Monday but normal hours will resume on Tuesday, May 29. To order tickets, click here or call 305-284-2263. The UM ticket office will be open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Canes taking on Georgia Tech at noon for ACC title -- but even with win hosting regional is unlikely

With North Carolina's 4-0, 12-inning win over North Carolina State late Saturday night, your 21st-ranked Miami Hurricanes earned a spot in today's ACC Championship game against eighth-seeded Georgia Tech -- and potentially a shot at hosting a regional.

But that shot at hosting a regional -- Baseball America college baseball expert Aaron Fitt says -- really isn't that good.

Even if they win today, most expect Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State to be the only ACC teams to earn host sites. UM's ranking in the RPI is 10th.

The NCAA will announce its 16 host sites at around 3:30 p.m. today, Fitt said.

"In my opinion what happened this week really didn't matter in terms of hosts," said Fitt. "It's nice they got some momentum back here. But they're probably behind some other teams in the pecking order in this conference. Miami got swept by [fourth seeded] Virginia, and Clemson also won two of three against them in the regular season -- in addition to N.C. State beating them at the tournament. Those teams just have more quality wins, a better body of work. It's nice Miami got hot a little bit here so maybe it will carry over with them next week. But the hosts are probably set right now."

First pitch for the ACC title game is at noon on ESPN2. The game can also be heard on 560 WQAM and WVUM 90.5 FM.

UM will start sophomore right-hander Javi Salas, while Georgia Tech will counter with freshman right-hander Josh Heddinger. UM took two of three from the Yellow Jackets last week in Atlanta.

UM is making its return to the championship game after a three-year hiatus. The last time the Hurricanes made it to the tournament's finale was in 2008, when they beat Virginia 8-4.

UM finished Pool B round-robin play tied with the Tar Heels at 2-1 and advanced to the championship via head-to-head tiebreaker.

Georgia Tech won Pool A by finishing a perfect 3-0 in round-robin play. After opening their tournament with an upset of No. 1 Florida State, the Yellow Jackets reeled off a 17-5 win against Virginia and a 5-1 win over Clemson on Saturday afternoon to earn their spot in the championship.

The complete NCAA Tournament brackets are scheduled to be revealed at noon Monday on ESPNU. The Hurricanes, who entered the ACC Tournament seeded sixth, have been projected for weeks to be the No. 2 seed in Gainesville.

But Fitt said he doesn't think the NCAA selection committee will send UM to face the Gators yet again.

"I hope they get sent somewhere else this year. They need some variety," Fitt said. "I have a feeling they will get sent somewhere else. There are a few other two seeds you can send to Gainesville that are close by. Miami can go out West or go to a place like LSU. But I see them traveling this year."